Crazy Weather

When we returned from Salem on Sunday night after winning the ODAC Championship, campus looked like a winter wonderland. The snow was beautiful. Now as we prepare to head north for our first round NCAA game at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, the snow is starting to melt and by the time we return it will be 70 degrees. Some crazy weather, but the snow made for a very picturesque campus :)

ODAC Champions!

Over the weekend we captured the 2009 ODAC Championship with wins over Eastern Mennonite, Virginia Wesleyan, and Bridgewater. It was a great team effort for which Lindsay Riesbeck and Amanda Hiltunen were named to the All-Tournament team and Molly Ariail was named the Most Outstanding Player. Enjoy a few pictures from the weekend.

Coach LaHaye cutting down the net!

2009 ODAC Champions!

The Yellow Jackets at the ODAC Awards Banquet

More Pink Zone Pictures

We got some additional photos from our Pink Zone event. Take a look!

Photos by John Irby

Senior Day and Pink Zone

This past Saturday we had a good win over a tough Washington & Lee team 79-70. Prior to the game, we surprised our team with pink uniforms to wear for our WBCA Pink Zone event. It was fun to see and hear their reactions when they walked into the locker room and saw pink jerseys hanging on their lockers. Many of our fans wore pink as well; it was neat to look into the stands and see all the pink. We also raffled off a pink baskeetball autographed by our team to raise some money for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. Thanks to all our fans who participated, we raised nearly $400 for the fund. Saturday was also our Senior Day when we honored seniors Amanda Hiltunen, Lindsay Riesbeck, and Rachel Parker prior to the start of the game.

All in all, we had a wonderful Valentine's Day in Crenshaw :)

Our pink uniforms waiting to be discovered by our team

Seniors Lindsay Riesbeck, Amanda Hiltunen, and Rachel Parker

Wear Pink this Saturday

This Saturday, the 14th, we are participating in the WBCA's Pink Zone. It is an effort by teams nationwide to increase breast cancer awareness. Saturday is also senior day as it is the last home game of the regular season for our seniors, Amanda Hiltunen, Lindsay Riesbeck, and Rachel Parker. We will also recognize the parents of our players for all they do. We hope you can join us on Saturday, and remember to WEAR PINK!

More information about the WBCA's Pink Zone can be found on the WBCA site: http://www.wbca.org/pinkzone.asp.

Three 1000 Point Scorers

This season we have had the pleasure of honoring three 1000 point scorers. Amanda Hiltunen scored her 1000th career point on December 1 against Lynchburg. When we returned from winter break on January 4, Molly Ariail was next to score her 1000th career point in Lexington, VA against W&L. Lindsay Riesbeck scored her 1000th career point in the very next game on January 6, against Randolph College. Congratulations to the newest 1000 point scorers in the Randolph-Macon Women's Basketball program.

Amanda Hiltunen, Molly Ariail, and Lindsay Riesbeck

Buzz Clubbers!

Last weekend after our win against Emory & Henry we spent some time with the children in our Buzz Club, taking pictures with Buzz, eating pizza, and having a good time. It was a lot of fun having some of our youngest fans with us for the afternoon as we always appreciate their support.

President Lindgren's Column

Our leader at Randolph-Macon, President Lindgren, wrote a column for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, published Sunday, January 11. He comments on the affordability and the value of a private, liberal arts education. There are some interesting statistics included. A study by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) shows that nationally, 79 percent of all graduates from private institutions earn their bachelor's degrees in four years or fewer compared with 49 percent of those from similar public institutions. See what other interesting facts are included.

The column is currently on R-MC's website: http://www.rmc.edu/News/09-01-11%20-%20Private%20Colleges%20Affordable.aspx.

Check it out!

St. Thomas

We are back! The Yellow Jackets enjoyed some time at home for the holidays and returned to campus on December 26 for a couple practices before heading to a tournament in St. Thomas. While in St. Thomas, we were able to spend some time on the beach, check out the shopping downtown and take a ferry over to St. John's for a day. Enjoy some of the pictures from our trip!

End of Fall Semester

Well the fall semester is coming to an end. Exams are this week, and then students will be heading home for the holidays. We completed the first part of the season 4-1, with conference wins over Lynchburg (97-87) and Bridgewater (90-74). Once we get back from winter break, we will head down to St. Thomas to take on Mary Washington and Cabrini. Both teams were in the NCAA tournament last year and off to good starts this year; Mary Washington is 7-0 and Cabrini is 4-1. In the new year we will be in the thick of our conference schedule, with only one more non-conference game when we travel up to Carlisle, PA to take on Dickinson.

We have a lot to be looking forward to; until then, enjoy the holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a disappointing loss last night at Virginia Wesleyan; it was a tough way for us all to part and go our separate ways for Thanksgiving break. Today I was in the car for a good chunk of the day and I was replaying parts of the game over and over in my head. All that reflection got me more bummed, but as soon as I got home I had the chance to go to an elementary school for a third grade Thanksgiving party. I helped the kids put together turkey headbands. We had cupcakes and colored cornacopias. They were so happy and thankful for the cupcakes and to get some extra attention from the visitors in the classroom. Their school is in a very poor section of the city and these kids do not have very much. After they left for the day, I learned that two of the kids are homeless. Yet they were so thankful to be in school. A little perspective can go a long way. We are so fortunate to be able to represent R-MC and come together as a team each day working to achieve something special. So from all of us Yellow Jackets, Happy Thanksgiving!

Off to a Good Start

Our team got off to a good start this weekend. We beat Elizabethtown on Saturday 71-48 and Alvernia on Sunday 99-86. All of our players saw action in both games with all 12 making contributions. On Saturday, Molly Ariail led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Amanda Hiltunen also contributed 19 points. Lindsay Riesbeck and Molly Brown both had a nice impact with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 8 points, 3 rebounds respectively. Freshman Maggie Roy got her collegiate career started with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

On Sunday, Alvernia had a strong showing with 5 players in double figures. We spread out our scoring with Amanda Hiltunen leading the way. Amanda had 30 points on 7-11 shooting along with 14-14 from the free throw line. Molly Brown contributed 13 points and Renee Stein 12 points. Jennifer O'Briant did a great job directing our team contributing 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Our well rounded effort included Molly Ariail (9 pts, 5 rebs), Lindsay Riesbeck (8 pts, 5 rebs), Taylor Wieczorek (8 pts, 6 rebs), and Maggie Roy (7 pts, 4 Assists).

We capped off the night with our annual reception at President Lindgren's house. It was wonderful to spend some time with all of our players and their families and a great way to conclude our opening weekend of play.

We have 8 days to prepare for our first conference game. We head to Virginia Wesleyan College next Tuesday in what will be a challenging start to ODAC play.

Tip-Off Time

Tomorrow is the start of our season. Our team has been working very hard and is ready to go. We open up against Elizabethtown tomorrow and Alvernia on Sunday. Both are from Pennsylvania. We finished practice this afternoon and are going to have a team dinner this evening. The excitement and a little nervousness has been building throughout the week. We are ready to go!

PreSeason #1

The ODAC's preseason rankings were released this morning during the women's basketball media day and we are at the top of the poll. It is an honor that our coaching colleagues ranked us first in the preseason poll, but it's who is at the top at the end of the season that truly counts. The conference will be competitive as ever this year. Three teams are returning their starting lineups from last season and many of last year's conference standouts are returning with more experience this season.

We will continue to work hard to prepare ourselves for our tough ODAC schedule. Only 8 days until tip-off!